Revel in New York
A look at the city through its people
The Minetta Lane Tavern
113 MacDougal Street
New York, NY 10012
(Between Bleecker & W. 3rd Street)
Tel. 212-475-3850
Owner, Keith McNally was born in London and moved to New York City in 1975 where he distinguished himself by being fired from every job he ever held. In 1977 he was nominated for laziest restaurant employee in New York City but was pipped at the line by the late James Beard.
In 1980, McNally (along with his brother Brian and then-wife Lynn Wagenknecht) opened his first restaurant, The Odeon. This was followed by Café Luxembourg (1993), Nell's (1986) and Lucky Strike (1989).
In 1996, McNally built Pravda, a Russian caviar and vodka bar. This was followed by Balthazar Bakery and Balthazar Restaurant in 1997. Schiller's Liquor Bar opened in 2003, followed by Morandi in 2007 and Minetta Tavern in 2009.
Executive Chefs Lee Hanson and Riad Nasr met while serving as sous-chefs at the 4-star rated restaurant Daniel.
Nasr completed cooking school in Canada before training in New York restaurants Park Bistro and Les Halles. In France, he worked at the Michelin 3-Star restaurant Michel Bras.
Hanson, a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, began working in a restaurant kitchen at the age of 14. He trained at Aureole, Von, and Le Cirque.
Working together at Daniel, the duo discovered that their cooking styles and temperaments uniquely complemented one another.
The two were approached by Keith McNally while he was building Balthazar, where they became the Head Chefs upon its opening in 1997. Riad and Lee have been working with McNally ever since: in addition to Balthazar, they are currently the Executive Chefs at Pastis, Schiller's and Minetta Tavern.
Chef de Cuisine William Brasile started his career in Washington, DC working for Jean-Louis Palladin after training at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY.
Since moving back to New York in 1997, Bill has worked at Le Cirque, Lespinasse, and Morimoto (as sous-chef), and served as Head Chef at 360 and iCi. Before coming to Minetta Tavern, Bill was working as the Chef de Cuisine at a restaurant in the Loire Valley called L'Herbe Rouge.
